Homocysteine and C-Reactive Protein Levels Are Associated With Frailty in Older Spaniards: The Toledo Study for Healthy Aging

Abstract

High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and homocysteine (Hcy) are inflammation markers but are also related to cardiovascular diseases, disability, or higher risk of death. Although inflammation is considered to be associated with frailty, data regarding the association between hsCRP or Hcy and frailty are controversial or scarce, especially with respect to their association with prefrailty. Thus, our objective was to study the association of hsCRP and Hcy with prefrailty and frailty in 1,211 Spanish men and women aged 65–98 years from the Toledo Study for Healthy Aging (TSHA) cohort, classified according to Fried’s criteria. Hcy was independently associated with frailty (odds ratio [OR] = 1.06; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.01–1.12), whereas hsCRP was independently associated with both prefrailty (OR = 1.03; 95% CI: 1.01–1.06) and frailty (OR = 1.07; 95% CI: 1.02–1.12). Furthermore, both markers were positively correlated with the number of Fried’s criteria that were met and were independently associated with the criteria of exhaustion (Hcy: OR = 1.03, 95% CI: 1.00–1.06), weakness (hsCRP: OR = 1.03, 95% CI: 1.01–1.05), and low physical activity (hsCRP: OR = 1.04, 95% CI: 1.02–1.06). Thus, our results highlight the importance of inflammation in age-related physical decline and, in particular, its association with fatigue, low strength, and decreased physical activity.

Retinal microglia polarization in diabetic retinopathy

“…According to the previous reports, hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy, elevated Hcy) disrupts blood-retinal barriers (BRBs) (Mohamed et al, 2017) and the retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE) (Ibrahim et al, 2016) and also induces epigenetic modifications (Elmasry et al, 2018). Also, studies have identified a strong association between HHcy and inflammation in both human and experimental models (Liu et al, 2012;Álvarez-Sanchez et al, 2019;Fang et al, 2019). However, the relationship between Hcy and RMC is rarely addressed.…”

Sex-Specific Energy Intakes and Physical Activity Levels According to the Presence of Metabolic Syndrome in Korean Elderly People: Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2016–2018

“…MetS is reported to be highly correlated with type 2 diabetes, cerebrovascular diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer (colorectal, pancreatic, and breast cancer), which are the main causes of mortality among elderly people in South Korea [ 15 , 16 , 17 ]. These typical risk factors are associated with high levels of C-reactive protein and homocysteine, which indicate a pro-inflammatory state in the blood vessels [ 18 ]. The pro-inflammatory state causes hyper-viscosity by activating blood coagulation reactions, increasing the level of plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI)-1 or fibrinogen [ 19 ], and increasing the level of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C).…”

A Novel Dried Blood Spot Detection Strategy for Characterizing Cardiovascular Diseases

“…The combination of metabolic biomarkers provides excellent predictive value for distinguishing between each disease type and healthy people and those with disease. Common risk factors for CVD include serum lipids (specifically including total cholesterol, triglycerides, and apolipoproteins), as well as C-reactive protein (CRP) and Hcy (19). Hcy is a degradation product of the process of protein metabolism.…”